There's nothing like the outdoors...

Well, here we are in Hradec, Czech Republic doing a little of the touristy thing, but I jump ahead of myself. Let me go back a week...



On Saturday morning we packed our car with a tent, some sheets and a blanket, a couple of pillows, a blow-up air mattress, a 6 foot plastic table, a card table, a tub of groceries and some kitchen supplies and headed to the Czech Republic to meet up with some friends for a few days of camping.

(Oh, by the way, we have a new used car due to the relocation of co-workers to London last week. This one has air conditioning and is reliable enough to drive out of town, so we are indeed blessed! We miss the folks that moved to London already and the receiving of the car is the ONLY thing good about their moving!)




We spent Saturday night with Mike and Wendi and their two children in Brno. After having worship in their living room on Sunday morning, we headed to Hradec in northern Czech Republic to meet up with Harold and Ginger and their two boys and a Czech man that is a friend of their family. His name is Michael and he had never been camping before. After going with us, I am sure he will jump at the next opportunity!!!




Our tent was small and easy to put up so we finished first. Glenn is laughing at the others as they put together their tents while he inflates the air mattress for his princess. (That would be me.)

Glenn decides to be helpful and go help the Youngs put up their 3 bedroom tent.

Michael doesn't have a clue how to start putting up his tent. Harold found a place where you can rent a tent for $3-$4 a night, so in fairness to Michael, he didn't even know what his tent was supposed to look like!

Of course, the 4 kids were "helpful".

Time to move the beds in!

Mike starts chopping wood so we could cook dinner.

Harold decides a grill is easier, especially when he discovered Glenn's little charcoal blower!

Glenn and I found a cast iron skillet/wok in Budapest and brought it along. It was a big hit for frying veggies and making french toast!!

We were there from Sunday afternoon until Wednesday morning so we had time to settle into a nice rhythm. The guys hiking and the ladies going shopping!

On Monday morning, Ginger, Wendi and I (with Wendi's GPS on the front dashboard of our car) headed to Boleslawiecka, Poland, the city famous for making Polish pottery! I was very proud of myself, driving into a foreign country without my hubby. First time I've ever done anything like that and with the GPS, it was a breeze. I know what I want for Christmas!

This is the border between Czech Republic and Poland. What a change from a few years ago! Thanks to a treaty between certain countries in what is now called the Schengen Zone, there is now free access from one country to another. Where there used to be armed soldiers and lots of passport controls, there are now just empty lanes. Here, they have even taken down the booths and all that remains are the awnings that indicate that you are leaving one country and entering another.

Ginger was our wonderful guide that got us from one store to another. We visited about 8 shops but there must be another 10-20 that we didn't have time to visit. You can see my "loot" above. I had birthday money from my Dad and Glenn's parents and I was happy to spend every penny of it. Actually, I enjoyed spending every Zloty. (FYI: 1 Polish zloty = 0.349211 U.S. dollar) Thanks Pop, Queenie and Pa! I love my birthday presents!

Because the Czech's haven't caught on to selling ice in 2.5 kilo bags like the Hungarians have, we would have to make a grocery store run every morning to buy food for that day. The Czech's have something called rholik that is similar to a hot dog bun that is their staple bread (only they don't call it bread!) The "bread" is only good for one day because it becomes too dry to eat. Does that mean they will sell all these rholiks in one day?

If the kids got bored, we gave them something to do. :)

Or they could ride their bikes or play games. Glenn shows Harold and Hayden how to play Bocci. What perfect form!

And, of course, there is always time for chit chatting!

We had a great time. It was good getting to know these two families who invited us to join their annual camping trip and we hope to be invited again. I don't know if we did any member care for them, but they sure provided member care to Glenn and me!!!!

After the camping trip, we went back to Hradec and stayed with the Johnson's for a few more days. They showed us their city, took us to a few bazaars (stores that sell used items), and Glenn went to a meeting at a church with Harold one night. Ginger and I did a lot of walking in her neighborhood to walk off all the S'mores we ate on the camping trip!

A view of one of the city "squares" from the White Tower.

I love the painted buildings!

Gorgeous old buildings.

I also love the old right next to the new.

Harold took us to all the "unique" places in his city, such as this umbrella repair shop. Now, have you ever seen a shop that solely repairs umbrellas? Have you seen a shop that repairs umbrellas, period? I don't think I ever have!

He also took us to a shop down Memory Lane that sells African artifacts! We had these same guardians chairs when we lived in Ivory Coast! (Same style, different designs.) (In case you are wondering why they are called guardians chairs...its because this is the kind of chair the night guards slept in while they were "guarding" our home.

And as I mentioned earlier, we also visited several bazaars, or second-hand stores. Unfortunately, these do not exist in Hungary or else we just can't find them, but they are all over Hradec! Glenn managed to find just the bike he has been wanting, even though he just recently got a purple girls bike from his friend Istvan for their bike ride around Lake Balaton! So, being the kind wife that I am, I "approved" of the purchase...and now he has a red boys bike and I have a purple girls bike!!

We returned to BP on Friday and have almost finished all the cleaning, unpacking and repacking that is necessary after a camping trip. That's the worst part!

On Saturday, the first really cool fall day here in Budapest, Glenn and I hopped on our "new"bikes and rode them from our house down to the Danube River, and then followed the river into downtown Budapest to the Gellert Hotel before turning around. About 2 hours of riding. Man, am I sore! Budapest has lots of wonderful bike lanes so we don't have to ride in the busy streets. (I'm just not sure I could do that because then I'd have to wear one of those goofy-looking life-saving helmets.) I look forward to more bike rides...once I get over the soreness!

We're here for about 10 days before our next trip. Have a good week!

I'm packin' it in!

No, I'm not giving up and throwing in the towel! (We still love it here.) Glenn and I are going camping this weekend and I am too old to sleep on the ground and not feel sore for the next week so I am packing everything in our car to make sure I am comfortable while out in the woods!





We are going camping for 3 nights in the northern part of Czech Republic with two of our families who work there so Glenn went out and bought a mega travel map book to make sure we could get there. We have not done much driving outside of Budapest since we usually take trains, planes or buses for our travels so we are definitely driving outside our "comfort zone"! Don't you think a GPS would make a nice Christmas present for Glenn???





Before leaving our house, we harvested our grapes from the vines and picked the last of our apples from our Golden Delicious tree. (We still have a pear tree and another kind of apple tree that are not yet ripe. Our strawberries are STILL producing (since MAY!) and our blackberries are just now beginning to come in.)





We drove 3 hours up to Brno (I'd like to buy a vowel, please!) in the southeast part of Czech Republic and met up with the Youngs, the family with whom we are spending our first night, at this parking lot for the Haribo company. Do you recognize the logo? It is for the gummi bears that I used to eat when I was in middle school and lived in Germany!!! Gummi bears have been one of my favorite memories from living in Germany, and I was thrilled when they showed up in America at Wal-mart!





This car was parked in the parking lot of the Haribo company. As much as I love gummi bears, I don't think I could drive this car myself. Not in public anyway.





And news from Budapest:
Crushed ice has arrived in BP! Our local Kentucky Fried Chicken now sells soft drinks with crushed ice. On top of that, they have a fountain where you serve yourself and there are free refills!!!!!

Honestly, I see more and more things "like in America" the longer we are here. In the grocery store, we can now buy things in bulk, which is wild because earlier we could not buy anything in a decent size. As time passes, the sizes get bigger and bigger.


Well, we head out in the morning to go camping so next weeks' blog will have pictures of our days in the woods with the Youngs and Johnsons. After our time in the woods, we will spend a day or two with the Johnsons in their town, and then visit with a few of our families on our way back to BP. We get back home next Friday evening.


My dad will celebrate his birthday this week while we are out camping so I want to wish him a very happy birthday a little early since I won't be able to call him on the 4th. I hope he has a great day and knows that I love him.



HAPPY BIRTHDAY, POP!

It was so fun!

Kari and Jonathan returned to France two days ago (Friday) but I still have pictures of the end of our time with them. Earlier in the week we went on a dinner cruise on the Danube River.





It was very nice, not too crowded, food was good, and the outside temperature a little warm until the sun started setting later in the evening.






We opted for dinner outside. There was also a small "band" and a little space for dancing, most of which was done by the guests who were enjoying their drinks a little too much.





We took the evening cruise which leaves the dock at 7:30 pm and returns at 9:30 pm so we got to enjoy the cooler weather and the sun as it was setting. Notice the huge, well-let building up on the hill? That is the castle, formerly the Royal Palace. Actually, it is 3 castles that have been built on top of each other, the first being built in the 13th century. The President's office is located on Castle Hill but he does not live there.




On Wednesday, the day before Hungary's biggest national holiday, we went into town to watch the qualifying rounds of the Red Bull Air Races.

It started with some fancy flying by four planes, much like the Blue Angels.

The official air show and races were on Thursday but we got to watch them practice on Wednesday with only half the crowd! The races were over the Danube River, between the Chain Bridge and the Margaret Bridge. If you look closely, you can see the pylons (underneath the bridge) through which planes flew, being timed and scored for their precise maneuvers. The planes fly UNDER the Chain Bridge, then around and around the pylons in a specific order toward the Margaret Bridge, then do a loop in the air before reversing the whole process, and ending up by flying back under the Chain Bridge. We had great "seats" right next to the Chain Bridge where we could see the planes go right under it!

This is another view of the Castle district as it overlooks the Chain Bridge. In the distance, you can see the Margaret Bridge.

On Thursday, Saint Stephen's Day, and through Sunday, there were probably a thousand booths set up through out the castle area and then winding down the hillside to the river. It is a big festival that draws people from all over. And you thought Kari and Jonathan came from France to see us???

Anyway...

...we spent Thursday morning and early afternoon just wandering through the castle grounds and the cobblestone walkway that descends through the park on the side of the hill. Everything for sale in the booths was hand-made in Hungary! Everything from soaps to jewelry, baskets, furniture, clothing, cards, purses, shoes, scarves, pottery, blown eggs, etc.

They also had genuine artisans on hand to demonstrate their craft. My favorite is the potter at his wheel.

I also loved the basket weaving, but how many baskets can a person use? Always one more!

This is a very family-friendly festival in that they have plenty of things for the kids to do. They had games, all home- and hand-made, such as this mechanical labyrinthe for the kids to play.

They even have places where the kids can try their hands at making things. It was amazing! They had places where kids could make paper or felt, make cornhusk dolls, paint eggs, weave, spin a potter's wheel, and a lot more that I can't remember. My kids would have loved this when they were little.

They even had things for BIG KIDS to try!

While we were on the top of the castle district, we wandered to the edge to take some pictures. Here, the wall is about 3 feet thick and I am about 5 feet short. I had trouble seeing over the edge so Glenn, being the helpful husband he is, gave me a hand.

Literally.

And this is the view over the wall.

We had a really good time checking out the booths and eating some of the local foods but we didn't want to spend all day there because we didn't want to get too tired. There were fireworks at 9 pm that evening, so we wanted to get out of the sun, go home and rest, and come back that night to sit on the banks of the river to watch all the fireworks.

Good idea, but once we got home-we collapsed and never made it back into town. Instead, we watched the fireworks on t.v.! They were awesome, and had I realized they would be as good, as long and as pretty as they were, I would have made the effort to go back into town. Oh well, we learned. Next year!!

While K & J were with us, we made two batches of vanilla ice cream.

Of all the purchases I've ever made, this $2 electric 4 quart ice cream maker is the BEST!

I made the ice cream while Kari made the cherry cobbler (using cherries out of our freezer that came from our tree). Every night, almost by clockwork, Jonathan would head to the basement to get the ice cream...We will miss our nightly ritual of ice cream, but we will miss Kari and Jonathan even more!

They left Friday but will be back to spend Christmas with us, as will Chris and Kate from New Jersey. We will have a house full, but I'll never complain because I cherish each visit with my kids. I am NOT looking forward to our family living on 3 different continents. It's bad enough that Chris and Kate are across the ocean. Kari and Jonathan will no longer be "just a country or two away" once J graduates and they move to Senegal.

Well, the Stevens are still in America and so we still have Eden House responsibilities, but this is the Doyles' weekend to cover so I am going to my bedside table-once I finish this blog-and choose from all the books I'm reading right now and curl up on the couch and read, read, read.

There are not many things better than curling up with a good book, especially when the weather has turned cooler, which it has! The sky is overcast, the wind is blowing and the chimes are singing. Ahhh, this is the day the Lord has made! Let us rejoice (and relax!) and be glad in it!

AMEN!